Low wear metallic fibre brushes

• Published in: Wear 1982-01, Vol.78 (1), p.59-68
• Main Authors: Boyer, L., Chabrerie, J.P., Saint-Michel, J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: electric power apparatus; energy storage components; fibers; friction; metals; wear
• ISSN: 0043-1648; 1873-2577
• DOI: 10.1016/0043-1648(82)90019-9

Metal fibre brushes were tested against stationary surfaces over a wide range of relative speed (up to 100 m s −1) for various mean (spatial) current densities J in dry argon or nitrogen. The experimental results presented are valid for several thousands of hours of test duration under “natural cooling” conditions. The various test facilities are described and results on voltage drop, friction coefficient, electrical and mechanical power losses and wear rate are given. For a pair of anodic and cathodic brushes under the working conditions described above, a total loss of 74 W cm −2 was obtained for J = 50 A cm −2 at a relative speed of 100 m s −1 and for a packing density of 11.8%. The wear rate was 10 −11. Some experimental results obtained with a recently built apparatus which are described here indicate that the brushes are superior to the best commercially available brushes for a wide range of applications. Ongoing studies at the Laboratoire de Génie Electrique de Paris are briefly reported.